Who Is Star-Lord's Dad? James Gunn Rules Out One Possibility

The "Guardians of the Galaxy" director addresses speculation over Peter Quill Sr.

James Gunn has a simple message for those who think they know what to expect in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie: You're probably wrong.

Not only is Thanos not the villain in the follow-up to this summer's blockbuster space superhero movie, he may not even make an appearance in it. "He will show up … if he helps out story and he will not show up at all if not," Gunn told Empire. "Thanos is not the most important thing in Guardians 2, that's for damn sure." He clarified that the heroes will be dealing with "other threats … that are not Thanos" in the second movie.

Gunn said that the identity of Quill's father was "something I had to work out before we shot the screenplay [to the first movie]," adding that he "wanted to make sure Yondu's place in everything made sense and it does, so it's all very specific stuff." But don't start those speculation engines just yet. Although he wouldn't give a hint about who Quill Sr. was, Gunn was willing to say who he wasn't. "It's definitely not the character who it is in the comics, I'll say that much," he confirmed. Bad news for anyone who looked forward to seeing J'son of Spartax make his big-screen debut in three years, and good news for everyone worried about how awkward that apostrophe would sound when spoken out loud.

Opening up the question of Quill's parentage offers up the potential for one more Star Wars parallel for the movie. Could it be that Peter is Thanos' son, making the franchise hero the son of the villain and brother of his potential love interest in the first movie? Search your feelings, James Gunn. You know it to be true — or, at least, not impossible.